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Is It Really That Challenging?

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 30, 2008
Author: Amazon User

FIRE PRO WRESTLING RETURNS for the Sony PS2 sounds like a wrestling fan's dream: You get to create and play whatever you want. While dozens of gimmick matches that have been made popular in the United States aren't featured in this game, the amount of customization available to the player is unmatched.

Yet, this game has so much debate and mixed reviews that I was too scared to buy it for 20 dollars at my local game store. What if I couldn't "master" it? What if I like "flashy WWE games" too much? Only when I saw it on a K-Mart rack for 10 bucks did I finally just go for it.

I'm beginning this review with this little story because while both lovers and haters have a point, I think the overall tone is misleading.

Yes, this game is unlike most wrestling games in the States.
Yes, it takes longer than usual to get used to the controls.
Yes, the game lacks any form of narrative or single-player incentive.

But, take it from a newbie - FIRE PRO WRESTLING RETURNS is a game that you can learn, and enjoy. You just need to have patience.

The wrestling gameplay is primarily based around the timing of moves. For example, grapples aren't started by one player. Instead, they happen automatically, and whoever enters the button combination first pulls off the move. Escaping from pins and submissions aren't just about button-mashing. The only to get out of a pin is to rapidly press (X), while you have to use the D-Pad to escape holds. Luck and fatigue plays into the counters and reversals more than just the push of a button. In fact, button-mashing penalizes you more than it helps. Landing high-flying moves is difficult if your opponent isn't dazed, but that's logical wrestling, if you ask me.

What's even stranger for a guy who's never played FIRE PRO before is that this PS2 title doesn't just have wrestling matches. There are MMA-style fights where you ground & pound in a cage, and can't win via pinfalls. There's also a K-1 kind of kickboxing mode, where you only use strikes; grapples will often only result in clinches.

However, FIRE PRO WRESTLING RETURNS also includes Cage Matches, Barbed Wire Matches, Battle Royals, and all sorts of Tournament and Team modes. There's even a Deathmatch mode, where after a certain amount of time, bombs go off inside the ring. The more you play this game, the more you realize that FPWR is more than just a "wrestling game"; it's a fighting game, too.

All of these modes work very well, although I'm disappointed that the single-player features (like Competition and Season) only give you points for your success, rather than unlockable characters. Then again, that's also a bonus. Every character is available from the outset, and you can create over a hundred more. I don't recognize any of the 300+ Japanese stars, but they're all fun to use.

The Create Modes are where FIRE PRO WRESTLING RETURNS runs into some problems. You see, while the gameplay and style are a matter of taste, the menu system is pretty un-user-friendly. Putting together a belt, customized ring, and managing factions is pretty easy. Creating a fighter is complex once you start getting to the A.I., but you don't have to manage that part if you don't want to. In other words, making a wrestler is only as complicated as you want it to be. Heck, you can even create a referee! Overall, character customization is a very managable that will please most gamers. While it may take some testing and tweaking, at least you'll be able to accurately design how your favorite wrestler would actually behave once the bell rings.

However, trying to design a logo is an absolute pain in my you-know-what. Rather than using an interface like ANIMAL CROSSING - or Windows Paint - FIRE PRO WRESTLING RETURNS has controls that are horrible. It's bad enough that sometimes one button can do several things in the menus. For example, the [Start] button doesn't always exit a menu; sometimes it's (Triangle). But there several sub-menus in the Logo Design feature, meaning that I still haven't figured what to do. It took me a few minutes to figure out how to exit the thing! I'm sure creating your own art is possible, but I couldn't tell you how to do it.

Other than the customization difficulties, the challenges in FIRE PRO WRESTLING RETURNS are legitimate and beatable. You might have to look at the manual sometimes to learn the gameplay, but it is learnable and very deep once you get the hang of it. The default A.I. difficulty won't slow down for you to learn, but at least I know that FPWR will always have a challenge ahead. There aren't any storyline modes, but the in-ring action is so crisp that the game is fun to WATCH! That's right...the A.I. is so smart that they will put on an excellent show without a controller in your hand. I can't give the A.I. enough praise; the default Level 4 difficulty beat my tail, poured salt on wounds, and told me to go home to mommy.

There's a hundreds of other little details that FIRE PRO WRESTLING RETURNS includes that I don't have time to mention. But if you're still unsure about whether you should buy this game, I have a few suggestions:

* Obviously, rent the game first if you can.

* This might not be as helpful, but go to this PDF website to look at a free strategy guide. You'll be looking at the manual anyway, so this might give you a good idea.
- - - http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/ps2/file/927675/50475 - - -

* Look up this game on YouTube. There are many videos (with excellent created WWE fighters) of matches. As I said before, FPWR is equally fun to watch.

I'll always love the WWE franchises, but there is more than one brand out there. Just like Akira Kurosawa inspired American cinema, this Japanese title has given wrestling gamers a worthy alternative.

I give the game:
"8.0 / 10".

This game wins the championship hands down

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 16, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I just got this game yesterday and, without a doubt it is the BEST wrestling game ever put out for the PS2!!! With 300 wrestlers on it to start with, the ability to make 500 more, being able to customize everything including the title belts, you possibilities are endless. The AI is tough at first, but once ya get the hang of the game, which I would recommend setting the AI at the weakest to start with, it will come to ya fairly quick. I could not be happier with this one, for it is so much better than any of the WWE games out there.

This is a complex and rewarding wrestling game.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: July 30, 2008
Author: Amazon User

First off, this game is not a button masher. It is very intricate and hard to master. I would not recommend this for anyone under 12, the move system and create mode is simply too hard.

The good news is that you can create everything : wrestlers,move-lists, federations, the ring, and even the belt. The create mode is actually very cumbersome, but it is complete, and gives the user TOTAL CONTROL. Alot of old-school wrestlers from the 80s(WWF glory years) are already on the game, you just simply need to change the name.

This game is aimed at players who like to create, and has endless replay value.

There is life in 2D sprites, still.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: April 07, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I remember back when I was a kid, playing EPYX Pro Wrestling, on my Commodore 64, with it's horrible graphics, small list of moves, 3 minute time limits and simplistic game play...and loving every single second of it. I daydreamed about having the ability to hack that game, just for the purpose of being able to change around the character's colors, and add in "additional" wrestlers.

It was my gamer fantasy, to have a "complete", pro wrestling, video game package, which focused on the presentation of the pro wrestling industry, "as it is"...not as some flashy, super quick fighting game, but something which mirrors the actual world of pro wrestling.

I wanted the whole gambit...the high flyer's, brawlers, small guys, giants, technicians, cheaters and I wanted them to have realistic differences in stats, which meant something and had a serious impact. And moves/holds, I wanted hoards and hoards of them. This was my fantasy, pro wrestling game.

You can imagine my amazement, when I happened across (by chance) a web site, of a hard core fan of the Fire Pro series, back when Fire Pro G was the new addition. After reading all the features, I knew that I had the wonderful fortune of having found my fantasy wrestling game...and this game was better than anything I'd anticipated. It was so much deeper.

I have been a solid supporter and fan of the Fire Pro Wrestling series, ever since (though, technically, I did already own HAL wrestling for the gameboy, I just didn't realize their connection at the time)...and I've purchased every installment since. Each has been superb.

The thing which sets this series apart from all other pro wrestling video game series, is that the people who created it are pro wrestling fanatics, and this shines through in the end product. They have the same vision, of being faithful to the true presentation, which you find in the pro wrestling business.

The flow of the matches are wonderful. They run the gambit, just like the "real" industry. The flavor and style of every single match, feels almost endless in it's diversity, as there are so incredibly many variables which come into play. You never truly know how a match will outcome, until it is over...and there are enough moves per wrestler/fighter, to where you can fight substantially different matches, even in a series with the same wrestlers/fighters. The matches just "feel" right. Like you just experienced a "real" match.

Consequentially, some matches are snoozers, while others are freaking awesome (in a wide variety of ways)...and most fall somewhere in between the extremes...but they are very fun and enjoyable, for the most part.

Fire Pro Wrestling R, has been one of the single most addictive games in my library, because it is a world of pro wrestling, on one disk (and a memory card). There is virtually nobody (wrestler/fighter or not), who you can not create with this game. With 500 edit slots, you could spend years creating and editing new characters, and still not fill up the limit. And the editor is amazing in it's (relative) simplicity, yet powerful versatility (I would kill to have a character editor like this, in an RPG Maker game/software).

I have some very cool looking, original characters, who fit in seamlessly with the default roster (something which is hard to say about most edits, in other wrestling games). You just need creativity, imagination and the patience to explore and experiment. I also have several, unique promotions, some with their own rings.

One thing I love about this series, is that while the game consoles were becoming more powerful, and the better known game franchises were boasting about "how many more polygons they could waste processing power on, this year" (as though this were some type of new and amazing "feature"), Fire Pro always remained focused on what has always made it so great, and they only added in new, real features which actually improved the game.

This game is the standard setter, for pro wrestling simulation video games. That is why I love it so much. And, having grown up with really bad graphics in video games, what Fire Pro brings to the table is not painful or unsatisfying, in the least. The graphics are great for this kind of game.

Whether or not "you" should buy this title, depends on "you" and what "you" like in this type of game. This series was very clearly created for those who love pro wrestling simulators (the kinds of people who fantasize about running their own promotions, and want that experience in a video game). Those who lean more towards the break neck speed, "life like" graphics and gimmick matches of other game series may not like this title...

...Then again, maybe it will fill a personal niche for you.

[One last note: They tell you that you "cant" play this as a button masher, but my experience is that you can set the difficulty level low (I keep mine on 3 or 4), and do rather well, mashing your way to a victory.]

Words cannot do it justice!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: March 27, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game may very well be the greatest wrestling game ever created. Infact, it's so deep, so customizable, that you can sit and watch the cpu fight eachother and possibly be more entertained than you would if you actually played it...can other wrestling games dish that out? heck no.

Fire Pro Returns has the absolute deepest edit/CaW system of any wrestling game. You can make literally *anybody* you want, from *any* era in wrestling, and they'll look so close to the real thing people wont believe you made them.

The game also comes with over 300 some odd wrestlers, most are from Japan/Mexico, but you'll recognize some American guys too, like Bret Hart, Sting, Kevin Nash, etc. The names have all been changed to avoid copyright issues.

Now back to edit/CaW's, you can actually create 500 wrestlers! 500! no joke.

Also, aside from wrestling, this is also an extremely good MMA/Ultimate Fighting simulator. Octagon cage, MMA fighters, complete MMA move sets, and more.

Enough cant be said about how great a game this is. It's an absolute jewel, and a MUST for any wrestling fan that owns a PS2.

The price? hell, it's laughable, 20 dollars, all the way down to 8 dollars, depending on where you get it.

Overrated, but overall FPWR can be fun....Somewhat.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 6
Date: March 20, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Overall FPWR is a decent attempt at a wrestling game. It would need major updating, graphics and audio wise, and a little re-working of the fighting engine to become a very good wrestling game, but it can be fun, for the most part...If you can get past the Sega Genesis era audio and graphics. I mean c'mon, 2D wrestling in 2005? (when the game came out in Japan) is simply ridiculous!

The MAJOR CONS in FPWR are: Navigating through the menus can be painful. The audio and graphics are from Sega Genesis era, and I'm not joking. An 8 player battle royal can be painful being that it will be hard to see your player sometimes during the match. No life gauge too see how bad your wrestler is hurt or how much damage he is taking, no grapple button, you simply run into your opponent to grapple which takes away from strategy a bit, and the other big flaw is no indicator bar to see when you can do your finisher on someone. The customization is great but the graphics take away from all that. While making wrestlers, I was like "Why in the hell am I wasting time creating 2D wrestlers when I could make near realistic human looking models with SvsR2008"?

This game deserves 3 stars, no more, no less. Simply put, even though the graphics date back to 1992, it can be a fun game, but in small doses. I get tired of this game after 30 min. of play. Customization and match types are its strength, and gameplay, while lacking a few major things, is all about timing, and less of a brainless button masher. FPWR, gameplay wise, is almost a sheer clone of 1991's WWF Wrestlefest arcade game.

In closing, FPWR can be fun at times and is a fresh change from SvsR2008, but I do think SvsR2008 blows this game away in every way. Make FPW 3D, add a finisher and life bar (keep it optional though, to where I can turn them off or on), add a grapple button then when grappled have a power meter, (kinda like what those old WWF wrestling games for Sega Genesis had) and keep all of the customization but add custom entrances and make a better story mode, improve the audio majorly, and you would have a perfect game. Basically mix SvsR with FPW and you have perfection.

P.S. I have completely stopped playing this game since I got SvsR 2008.

New to this...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 08, 2008
Author: Amazon User

whole review thing. well first off fire pro returns is the best wrestling game i've ever played. I could tell you all the great match types and what not but it's not that important. if you love wrestling and can sit down and learn the controls, you want this game. if you can go without eye candy. you want this game. if you want to see if cena can beat kobashi, you want this game. lol

Not for hot-tempered controller throwers

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: March 03, 2008
Author: Amazon User

A control system similar to N64's "No Mercy" would have made this an untouchable blockbuster. As is, you are driven to insanity as the computer stomps you with impunity. Intricate and complex and wrestling video game do not mix. If/when Fire Pro Returns again, lets hope for a more player-friendly configuration, and the ability to USE foreign objects laying all around the ring would be nice as well.

why,,,,,no progress

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: February 24, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I've been playing FP games since HAL wrestling, I don't understand why they haven't made a federation mode track computer and player win-losses and deriving a top contenders list to compete for world, secondary and tag titles. The gameplay and customization is always excellent. The matchmaker would be better if you competed against other feds and could do more then 12 cards. Otherwords your just simming a match at a time for your own personal enjoyment. I don't get this, 20 yrs, and still no fed geez.... It doesn't need a lame story line mode, just something to let it be a wrestling simulation not a one match at a time simulation. And a league mode that just tracks points.... man your halfway there.

Awesome Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: February 08, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This is the best wrestling game to pick up! If those of you who are disappointed in the WWE Raw vs. Smackdown Series, This is the game to play! You can create up to 500 superstars from the past to the present, as well as creating your own logos, referees, championship belts, and the wrestling rings. You can even save the same match type if you always play the same match type. The match types are amazing- from deathmatches to classic wrestling all the way down to MMA (UFC), which is so cool! You can even sort them based on the organization they belong to (WWE,TNA, ROH, etc.) It already comes pre-loaded with some american wrestlers as well as wrestlers from old and new japan pro wrestling! Great game! I Love It!!!

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